Renewable energy metering and monitoring device, system and method of tamper-resilient renewable energy production verification

Abstract

A renewable energy metering and monitoring device includes a network interface that establishes a communication channel with one or more inverters at a renewable energy production source site. A data acquisition circuit acquires raw renewable energy production data based on data signals directly obtained from one or more inverters over the established communication channel. A meter monitors and record an amount of renewable energy generated as well as a date and a duration when the renewable energy is generated. A sensor circuit board communicatively coupled to one or more sensors generates sensor information indicative of on-the-ground ambient conditions that exist during renewable energy production at the renewable energy production source site and a controller communicates a plurality of renewable energy production datasets to a central cloud server to generate an electronically verifiable span data package from the plurality of renewable energy production datasets.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A renewable energy metering and monitoring device, comprising:
 a network interface configured to establish a communication channel with one or more inverters at a renewable energy production source site;   a data acquisition circuit configured to acquire raw renewable energy production data as electricity is generated from one or more renewable energy generation devices at the renewable energy production source site based on data signals directly obtained from the one or more inverters over the established communication channel;   a meter configured to monitor and record an amount of renewable energy generated as well as a date and a duration when the renewable energy is generated;   a sensor circuit board connected to the data acquisition circuit and the meter, wherein the sensor circuit board is communicatively coupled to one or more sensors configured to generate sensor information indicative of on-the-ground ambient conditions that exist during renewable energy production at the renewable energy production source site influencing production of renewable energy; and   a controller configured to communicate a plurality of renewable energy production datasets to a central cloud server,   wherein the central cloud server is configured to generate an electronically verifiable span data package from the plurality of renewable energy production datasets that is processed to generate a renewable energy certificate (REC) claim request in a defined taxonomy compatible to be read by an application programming interface (API) of a first third-party system associated with a renewable energy verifier entity.   
     
     
         2 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 1 , wherein the on-the-ground ambient conditions comprises one or more of: a weather condition, an air quality or pollution condition, a wind speed parameter, an air temperature parameter, an atmospheric pressure condition, a terrain condition, a relative humidity (RH) condition, a rainfall condition, a precipitable water condition, a Snow Days (SD) condition, a CoolingDegree Days (CDDs) condition, and a HeatingDegree Days (HDDs) condition. 
     
     
         3 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 2 , wherein the on-the-ground ambient conditions further comprise a first detection value indicative of whether a device-to-device connection between the renewable energy metering and monitoring device and the one or more inverters is maintained or lost, and if lost then record a duration of loss of the device-to-device connection. 
     
     
         4 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 3 , wherein the on-the-ground ambient conditions further comprise a second detection value indicative of whether a physical protection for secured access to the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is breached, and a logged access time. 
     
     
         5 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller of the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is further configured to ascertain whether the raw renewable energy production data is aligned with the sensor information indicative of the on-the-ground ambient conditions. 
     
     
         6 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 1 , wherein the network interface of the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is connected to a corresponding data port of the one or more inverters to securely obtain data signals from the one or more inverters over the established communication channel. 
     
     
         7 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller of the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is further configured to communicate supplementary information to the central cloud server,
 wherein the supplementary information comprises a location of the renewable energy production source site, a fuel type indicative of a type of renewable energy used, device information of a list of renewable energy generation devices and the one or more inverters located at the renewable energy production source site, wherein the central cloud server is further configured to utilize the supplementary information for the generation of the electronically verifiable span data package.   
     
     
         8 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to execute a local pre-validation of the plurality of renewable energy production datasets using one or more defined checkpoints prior to communication to the central cloud server. 
     
     
         9 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller of the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is further configured to determine an on-the ground performance of a list of renewable energy generation devices based on the sensor information. 
     
     
         10 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 1 , wherein a renewable energy certificate (REC) claim request is generated and communicated by the central cloud server to the first third-party system along with a portion of the electronically verifiable span data package as evidence, which is further used to issue a first REC by a REC issuing entity when the REC claim request is successfully verified. 
     
     
         11 . The renewable energy metering and monitoring device according to  claim 10 , wherein a unique identifier associated with the first REC is acquired and converted to an interactive digital renewable energy certificate (DIGIREC) asset based on a predefined REC-taxonomy metadata stored at the central cloud server, and wherein the interactive DIGIREC asset is a digital exchangeable energy attribute certificate based asset that provides an assurance of an authenticity about production of a unit of electricity through renewable energy through an objective digital evidence chain of custody based on a multi-layered verification of renewable energy production corresponding to the plurality of renewable energy production datasets. 
     
     
         12 . A system of tamper-resilient capture and verification of renewable energy production, the system comprising:
 a renewable energy metering and monitoring device disposed at a renewable energy production source site; and   a central cloud server communicatively coupled to the renewable energy metering and monitoring device,   wherein the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is configured to:
 establish a communication channel with one or more inverters at the renewable energy production source site; 
 acquire raw renewable energy production data as electricity is generated from one or more renewable energy generation devices at the renewable energy production source site, based on data signals directly obtained from the one or more inverters over the established communication channel; 
 monitor and record an amount of renewable energy generated as well as a date and a duration when the renewable energy is generated; 
 generate sensor information indicative of on-the-ground ambient conditions that exist during production of renewable energy at the renewable energy production source site influencing the production of renewable energy; and 
 communicate a plurality of renewable energy production datasets and the sensor information to a central cloud server, 
   and wherein the central cloud server is configured to:
 generate an electronically verifiable span data package from the plurality of renewable energy production datasets and process the electronically verifiable span data package to generate renewable energy certificate (REC) claim request in a defined taxonomy compatible to be read by an application programming interface (API) of a first third-party system associated with a renewable energy verifier entity; and 
 communicate the REC claim request to the first third-party system along with a portion of the electronically verifiable span data package as evidence. 
   
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central cloud server is further configured to ascertain whether the plurality of renewable energy production datasets indicative of an amount of renewable energy generated over a period of time is congruent with the sensor information indicative of the on-the-ground ambient conditions. 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central cloud server is further configured to determine an on-the-ground performance of a list of renewable energy generation devices based on the sensor information indicative of the on-the-ground ambient conditions. 
     
     
         15 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central cloud server is further configured to assign a timestamp and a hash value to each renewable energy production dataset of the plurality of renewable energy production datasets periodically acquired from the renewable energy metering and monitoring device. 
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central cloud server is further configured to:
 acquire, from the first third-party system, a unique identifier of a first REC issued by a REC issuing entity when the REC claim request is successfully verified; and   generate an interactive digital renewable energy certificate (DIGIREC) asset based on at least the acquired unique identifier, associate ownership to a registered entity of the renewable energy production source site and store the interactive DIGIREC asset in the central cloud server.   
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central cloud server is further configured to execute a local pre-validation of the REC claim request for the plurality of renewable energy production datasets acquired from the renewable energy metering and monitoring device using one or more defined checkpoints prior to verification of the REC claim request by the first third-party system associated with the renewable energy verifier entity. 
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the electronically verifiable span data package comprises:
 a first type of data item comprising REC claim information details, a claim date of the REC claim request, a checkpoint source, a data structure related to the defined taxonomy, a fuel type indicative of a type of renewable energy used, a production capacity of renewable energy production source site, an identifier of the renewable energy production source site, and account information associated with the renewable energy production source site assigned by the renewable energy verifier entity; and   a second type of data item comprising a plurality of device identities (IDs) and corresponding energy production data associated with each device ID over a specified period as source evidence.   
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the central cloud server in coordination with the renewable energy metering and monitoring device is further configured to generate an audit trail accessible remotely via an audit user interface (UI) to allow remote or on-site auditing by an authorized auditor to prove one or more renewable energy certificate (REC) claims, and wherein the audit trail is generated based on the plurality of renewable energy production datasets acquired periodically from the renewable energy metering and monitoring device located at the renewable energy production source site. 
     
     
         20 . A method of tamper-resilient capture and verification of renewable energy production, the method comprising:
 establishing, by a renewable energy metering and monitoring device, a communication channel with one or more inverters at a renewable energy production source site;   acquiring, by the renewable energy metering and monitoring device, raw renewable energy production data as electricity is generated from one or more renewable energy generation devices at the renewable energy production source site, based on data signals directly obtained from the one or more inverters over the established communication channel;   monitoring and recording, by the renewable energy metering and monitoring device, an amount of renewable energy generated as well as a date and a duration when the renewable energy is generated;   generating, by the renewable energy metering and monitoring device, sensor information indicative of on-the-ground ambient conditions that exist during production of renewable energy at the renewable energy production source site influencing the production of renewable energy;   communicating by the renewable energy metering and monitoring device, a plurality of renewable energy production datasets, and the sensor information to a central cloud server; and   generating, by the central cloud server, an electronically verifiable span data package from the plurality of renewable energy production datasets and processing the electronically verifiable span data package to generate a REC claim request in a defined taxonomy compatible to be read by an application programming interface (API) of a first third-party system associated with a renewable energy verifier entity.